Scenes of the Buddhist Hell

second half 19th century

Not on view

This dynamic painting depicts the Buddhist hell. Most of the composition shows detailed descriptions of the types of suffering that await souls reborn in hell, with an array of punishments meted out by muscular, half-nude demons with red or green skin. In the upper left corner, for example, two naked figures on a platform attempt to escape as a green-skinned demon beats them. Nearby, another hapless soul is bound upside down to a tree, watching in horror and awaiting his own punishment. Elsewhere, demons march lost souls into a pool of molten lava. A scene in the bottom third of the picture shows a group of children in a graveyard, some attempting to escape from an approaching demon. Others beg for mercy from Jizō, who appears here as a monk. Another scene in an upper register of the painting shows individuals kneeling before the King of Hell, who sits at a large table. He is flanked by attendants that assess the various sins committed by the deceased in his or her previous life.

Artwork Details

地獄図
Title: Scenes of the Buddhist Hell
Artist: Shōsai 松斎 (Japanese, active second half of the 19th century)
Period: Edo (1615–1868)–Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: second half 19th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 76 15/16 × 33 1/4 in. (195.4 × 84.4 cm)
Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 4 1/4 in. × 42 5/8 in. (254.6 × 108.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020
Object Number: 2020.170
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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